The infamous “Drake curse” resurfaced this weekend as the rapper suffered another major betting loss, this time on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.
On 15th November, the highly anticipated bout between 27-year-old YouTuber Jake Paul and 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson took place in Arlington, Texas, and was streamed live on OTT. Paul secured a unanimous decision victory.
Before the match, Drake shared a screenshot of his betting slip, revealing a hefty $355,000 (£280,000) wager on Tyson to win. If Tyson had prevailed, Drake stood to collect $1,011,750 (£801,000). However, the rapper managed to bounce back the following day (November 16) when Jon Jones successfully defended his UFC Heavyweight Championship against Stipe Miocic, earning Drake a $954,000 (£756,000) payout.
Image Courtesy: CBS Sports
Drake has developed a notorious reputation for losing bets on sports, a streak that dates back to at least 2019.
This summer, he bet on Canada to defeat Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the Copa América semi-final, missing out on a potential $2.88 million payday. The Argentine FA even posted a celebratory photo captioned ‘Not Like Us,’ a nod to Kendrick Lamar’s diss track.
A few months earlier, he lost $500,000 (£393,000) by betting that Tyson Fury would defeat Oleksandr Usyk. A Fury victory would have earned him just over $1 million (£786,600).
Last summer, the rapper placed a $250,000 (£195,198) bet on UFC icon Nate Diaz in his boxing match against Jake Paul, only to see Paul win again. Earlier that year, he admitted to making nearly $1 million (£829,500) in “psychotic” bets on the 2023 Super Bowl.
In 2022, Drake reportedly lost $1 million on a World Cup wager after Argentina defeated France. A correct bet would have yielded $2.75 million (£2.26 million). That same year, FC Barcelona fell victim to the so-called “Drake curse” after losing to Real Madrid in a match the rapper had bet on.
Friday’s Paul-Tyson fight also left many viewers frustrated, with OTT struggling to manage demand during its live-streaming debut for combat sports.
–Silviya.Y